mango&lime — a blog about food and eating in miami

On the corner of 35th street and Biscayne, in a white building that houses Bays Inn Motel, a luxury car rental and a French cosmetics store, now lives Bays Inn Café, a sushi and Thai food joint. Unlikely place for one, I know.

The place has been open for about two weeks and it’s easy to ignore. Driving by, all you see is the kitchen’s long rectangular window with a blinking sushi sign and the adjacent small outdoor seating area, enclosed by a wood fence and covered with a white tent. A hand-painted sign reads “Now Open.” From the outside, it’s not one of those places that might compel you to pull over.

I did.

We were greeted by a friendly Thai couple, wife with baby in hand, that quickly got into the kitchen after we sat down at one of their three or four tables. We were the only patrons eating in.

As we looked at the menu, I felt a little nervous that my idea to try the place was a bad one. Luckily, we had a good meal. Not the best sushi in town, but a decent, inexpensive and convenient – it’s one block away – option.

The menu is varied, offering rolls – the most expensive at $6.95 – soups, appetizers, sushi/sashimi combo plates and Thai and Indonesian dishes – curries, Pad Thai, Nasi Rames (a combination of chicken curry, beef rendang, salty duck egg and teri kacang).

The salmon ceviche, a medley of cucumber, apples, avocado, cherry tomatoes and onions, was interesting but I can’t make my mind up about it. Something about the texture of the red apples in the mix made it a little odd. The Angel roll – a combination of shrimp, Alaska king crab, cream cheese, avocado and masago – was by far the best. The others rolls, not outstanding but not bad.

Our check was about $32; not bad for five rolls, edamame, a tuna ceviche, a Thai iced tea and a bottle of water.

Before we left, the husband told us they were going to expand the seating area and “make it really fancy.” I found that cute. Hopefully they’ll stay for some time.

Bays Inn Café
3530 Biscayne Blvd.
305.573.8053/ 786.704.4949

tags: Bays Inn Cafe, sushi, Thai food, Biscayne Boulevard